last time ireallylovemusic were in the presence of the band that is the boy least likely to, pete and jof (for they are the band) were enjoying a post euphoric gig party having just given a few thousand punters at the first end of the road festival a huge happy pop overdose involving balloons, dayglo t-shirts, weird costumes, george michael cover versions, and a lot of excellent heart lifting songs.
during a few minutes chat following their barn storming set, i was told of the bands success involving 19 entertainment (google it), big blogosphere love, and the more mundane stuff involving parenting that i can always relate to. my hopes were high for the band to become the proper pop stars they clearly deserved to be.
then as is often the way, things became quiet.
so much so, that i completely lost track of the band, and shamefully wasn’t even aware that they have recently released their follow up album, the law of the playground.
then a few weeks ago an email arrived telling me of the cornbury festival line up for 2009, and there they were.
i quickly realised i needed to catch up.
thankfully, despite the fact that their largely awkward liaison with big business is now over (bar a few commercial syncs and a free box of chocolate biscuits), and the lads have had to arm wrestle a few lawyers in order to be able to self release this follow up, with a cover consisting of a knitted creature in charge of a plunger armed tank, the text in lower case, it’s very much a case of ‘if it aint broke .. ‘
the childlike innocence that won yours truly over back in 2005 is still clearly the dominating factor throughout the 13 tracks on offer, with lyrics involving catapults, pencils up the nose, and more balloons. however hidden in the darker corners, are pointers to the trials and tribulations that have prevented this album seeing the light of day earlier.
subsequently songs such as the boy least likely to is a machine, every goliath has its david and album closer, a fairytale ending, ("limping off into the sunset with our tails between our legs, remembering how it all started and wondering if this is the way that my fairytale ends") are heavy with an all too obvious, and somewhat depressingly expected sub-text.
but, for all the loss of naivety that’s on evidence, i am genuinely chuffed to report that they haven’t lost the knack for crafting beautifully arranged pop music that will please all the people that fell for the bands charms when they were holding the best party ever. for 45 minutes, backing the lads sweet vocals (dare i use the term ‘twee’ on ireallylovemusic ?) acoustic guitars are strummed while banjos, strings,trombones, and even recorders appear in all the right places to make this excellent album, as was its predecessor, a great sing-a-long soundtrack for onset of a long and hot summer.
quick summary for those who cant be bothered to read the review : i still really really love this band.
more detail : here – – 2005 interview